Louisiana's 2nd congressional district

Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
	Louisiana's 2nd congressional district – since January 3, 2013.
	Cedric Richmond; D–New Orleans
Distribution	94.68% urban[1]; 5.42% rural;
Population (2016)	792,390[2]
Median income	$37,340[2]
Ethnicity	61.94% black; 30.95% white; 6.37% Hispanic; 2.75% Asian; 0.29% Native American;
Cook PVI	D+25[3]

Louisiana's 2nd congressional district contains nearly all of the city of New Orleans and stretches west and north to Baton Rouge.

The district is currently represented by Democrat Cedric Richmond.

History

Louisiana gained the 2nd congressional district in 1823 as part of the 18th United States Congress. At first it comprised New Orleans and significant populations from surrounding areas. With the growth of population in the urban area, the current district is located mostly within the city of New Orleans.

Since the late 19th century, this has been historically among the most safely Democratic seats in the country, for sharply opposing reasons. During Reconstruction, most African Americans affiliated with the Republican Party and, as a majority, elected Republicans from this district.

White Democrats regained control of the district in 1891, when voter suppression of Republicans was rampant. They kept the seat through much of the 1960s, largely because of disenfranchising blacks. In 1898 the Democratic-dominated state legislature had disenfranchised most blacks in the state through provisions of a new state constitution that raised barriers to voter registration, such as poll taxes and subjective literacy tests. The Democrats had maintained the political exclusion of blacks for decades. Like most congressional districts in the South, this district consistently voted Democratic from the late 19th century until the late 1960s, because the voters during that time were nearly all white Democrats. Such Democrats created what was known as the Solid South in Congress, exercising power beyond their proportion of the electorate. Throughout this period, New Orleans had a significant proportion of African Americans as residents, but they were utterly excluded from the political system.

In 2008, after a federal grand jury indicted incumbent congressman Jefferson on sixteen felony charges related to corruption the year prior, Joseph Cao was elected as the first Republican to represent the 2nd congressional district and most of New Orleans in more than a century. (Since the late 20th century, many white conservatives had shifted into the Republican Party). Cao was the first Vietnamese-American U.S. Representative elected in the country. He was the only Republican in the 111th Congress to represent a district with a predominantly African-American population.

For most of the period from 1983 to 2013, this district contained nearly all of the city of New Orleans (except for a small portion is located in the neighboring 1st congressional district), and some of its suburbs. From 2003 to 2013, the legislature defined it as including the West Bank portion of Jefferson Parish and South Kenner, which have a higher proportion of white residents.[4] After the 2010 census, the state legislature redefined it to encompass territory slightly to the west, and pick up a portion of Baton Rouge.

Recent presidential elections

Election results from presidential races
Year	Office	Results
2000	President	Gore 76 - 22%
2004	President	Kerry 75 - 24%
2008	President	Obama 74 - 25%
2012	President	Obama 76 - 23%
2016	President	Clinton 75 - 22%

List of members representing the district

Member	Party	Term	Cong ress	Electoral history	Location
District created		March 4, 1823
Henry Hosford Gurley	Adams-Clay Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825	18th 19th 20th 21st	Elected in 1822. Re-elected in 1824. Re-elected in 1826. [data unknown/missing]	1823–1833 East Baton Rouge, Feliciana, Iberville, West Baton Rouge, Pointe Coupee, Saint Helena, Saint Tammany, and Washington parishes
Henry Hosford Gurley	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1831	18th 19th 20th 21st
Philemon Thomas	Jacksonian	March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1835	22nd 23rd	[data unknown/missing]
Philemon Thomas	Jacksonian	March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1835	22nd 23rd	[data unknown/missing]	1833–1843 [data unknown/missing]
Eleazer Wheelock Ripley	Jacksonian	March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1837	24th 25th	[data unknown/missing]
Eleazer Wheelock Ripley	Democratic	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839	24th 25th	[data unknown/missing]
Thomas Withers Chinn	Whig	March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1841	26th	[data unknown/missing]
John Bennett Dawson	Democratic	March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843	27th	Redistricted to the 3rd district.
Alcée Louis la Branche	Democratic	March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845	28th	[data unknown/missing]	1843–1853 [data unknown/missing]
Bannon Goforth Thibodeaux	Democratic	March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1849	29th 30th	[data unknown/missing]
Charles Magill Conrad	Whig	March 4, 1849 – August 17, 1850	31st	[data unknown/missing] Resigned to become United States Secretary of War
Vacant		August 17, 1850 – December 5, 1850
Henry Adams Bullard	Whig	December 5, 1850 – March 3, 1851		Elected to finish Conrad's term. [data unknown/missing]
Joseph Aristide Landry	Whig	March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853	32nd	[data unknown/missing]
Theodore Gaillard Hunt	Whig	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855	33rd	[data unknown/missing]	1853–1863 [data unknown/missing]
Miles Taylor	Democratic	March 4, 1855 – February 5, 1861	34th 35th 36th	Withdrew due to onset of Civil War
Vacant		February 5, 1861 – December 3, 1862	36th 37th
Michael Hahn	Unionist	December 3, 1862 – March 3, 1863	37th	[data unknown/missing]
Vacant		March 4, 1863– July 18, 1868	38th 39th 40th	U.S. Civil War and Reconstruction era
James Mann	Democratic	July 18, 1868 – August 26, 1868	40th	[data unknown/missing] Died.
Vacant		August 26, 1868 – March 3, 1869	40th	House left seat vacant due to election dispute
Lionel Allen Sheldon	Republican	March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1875	41st 42nd 43rd	[data unknown/missing] Lost re-election.
Ezekiel John Ellis	Democratic	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1885	44th 45th 46th 47th 48th	[data unknown/missing] Retired.
Michael Hahn	Republican	March 3, 1885 – March 15, 1886	49th	[data unknown/missing] Died.
Vacant		March 15, 1886 – December 9, 1886
Nathaniel Dick Wallace	Democratic	December 9, 1886 – March 3, 1887		Elected to finish Hahn's term. [data unknown/missing]
Matthew Diamond Lagan	Democratic	March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1889	50th	[data unknown/missing]
Hamilton D. Coleman	Republican	March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891	51st	[data unknown/missing]
Matthew Diamond Lagan	Democratic	March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893	52nd	[data unknown/missing]
Robert Charles Davey	Democratic	March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895	53rd	[data unknown/missing]
Charles Francis Buck	Democratic	March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1897	54th	[data unknown/missing]
Robert Charles Davey	Democratic	March 4, 1897 – December 26, 1908	55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th	[data unknown/missing] Died.
Vacant		December 26, 1908 – March 30, 1909	60th 61st
Samuel Louis Gilmore	Democratic	March 30, 1909 – July 18, 1910	61st	Elected to finish Davey's term. Died.
Vacant		July 18, 1910 – November 8, 1910	61st
H. Garland Dupré	Democratic	November 8, 1910 – February 21, 1924	61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th	Elected to finish Gilmore's term. Died.
Vacant		February 21, 1924 – April 22, 1924	68th
James Z. Spearing	Democratic	April 22, 1924 – March 3, 1931	68th 69th 70th 71st	Elected to finish Deupré's term. [data unknown/missing]
Paul H. Maloney	Democratic	March 4, 1931 – December 15, 1940	72nd 73rd 74th 75th 76th	[data unknown/missing] Resigned.
Vacant		December 15, 1940 – January 3, 1941	76th
Hale Boggs	Democratic	January 3, 1941 – January 3, 1943	77th	[data unknown/missing] Lost renomination.
Paul H. Maloney	Democratic	January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1947	78th 79th	[data unknown/missing] Retired.
Hale Boggs	Democratic	January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1973	80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd	Presumed dead after private plane went missing over Alaska October 16, 1972. Seat declared vacant at beginning of the 93rd Congress.
Vacant		January 3, 1973 – March 20, 1973	93rd		1973–1983 [data unknown/missing]
Lindy Boggs	Democratic	March 20, 1973 – January 3, 1991	93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st	Elected to finish her husband's term. Retired.	1973–1983 [data unknown/missing]
Lindy Boggs	Democratic	March 20, 1973 – January 3, 1991	93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st	Elected to finish her husband's term. Retired.	1983–1993 [data unknown/missing]
William J. Jefferson	Democratic	January 3, 1991 – January 3, 2009	102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th	[data unknown/missing] Lost re-election.	1983–1993 [data unknown/missing]
					1993–2003 [data unknown/missing]
					2003–2013
Joseph Cao	Republican	January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011	111th	Elected in 2008. Lost re-election.
Cedric Richmond	Democratic	January 3, 2011 – present	112th 113th 114th 115th 116th	Elected in 2010.
Cedric Richmond	Democratic	January 3, 2011 – present	112th 113th 114th 115th 116th	Elected in 2010.	2013–present

Recent Election Results

2002

Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District Election (2002)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William J. Jefferson*	90,310	63.53
	Democratic	Irma Muse Dixon	28,480	20.03
	Republican	Silky Sullivan	15,440	10.86
	Democratic	Clarence "Buddy" Hunt	4,137	2.91
	Libertarian	Wayne Clement	3,789	2.67
Total votes			142,156	100.00
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2004

Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District Election (2004)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William J. Jefferson*	173,510	79.01
	Republican	Art Schwertz	46,097	20.99
Total votes			219,607	100.00
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2006

Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District General Election (2006)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William J. Jefferson*	28,283	30.08
	Democratic	Karen Carter Peterson	20,364	21.66
	Democratic	Derrick D.T. Shepherd	16,799	17.87
	Republican	Joe Lavigne	12,511	13.31
	Democratic	Troy A. Carter	11,304	12.02
	Republican	Eric T. Bradley	1,159	1.23
	Democratic	Regina Bartholomew	1,125	1.20
Total votes			91,545	100.00
Turnout
	Democratic hold

Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District General Election RUNOFF (December 9, 2006)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William J. Jefferson*	35,153	56.55
	Democratic	Karen Carter Peterson	27,011	43.45
Total votes			62,164	100.00
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2008

Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District Election (December 6, 2008)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph Cao	33,132	49.54
	Democratic	William J. Jefferson*	31,318	46.83
	Green	Malik Rahim	1,883	2.82
	Libertarian	Gregory W. Kahn	549	0.82
Total votes			66,882	100.00
Turnout
	Republican gain from Democratic

2010

Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District Election (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cedric Richmond*	83,705	64.59
	Republican	Joseph Cao*	43,378	33.47
	Independent	Anthony Marquize	1,876	1.45
	Independent	Jack Radosta	645	0.50
Total votes			129,604	100.00
Turnout
	Democratic gain from Republican

2012

Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District Election (2012)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cedric Richmond*	158,501	55.20
	Democratic	Gary Landrieu	71,916	25.00
	Republican	Dwayne Bailey	38,801	13.50
	Republican	Josue Larose	11,345	3.90
	Libertarian	Caleb Trotter	6,791	2.40
Total votes			287,354	100.00
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2014

Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District Election (2014)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cedric Richmond*	152,201	69
	Democratic	Gary Landrieu	37,805	17
	No Party	David Brooks	16,327	7
	Libertarian	Samuel Davenport	15,237	7
Total votes			221,570	100.00
Turnout				47.6
	Democratic hold

2016

Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District Election (2016)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cedric Richmond*	198,289	70
	Democratic	Kip Holden	57,125	20
	Democratic	Kenneth Cutno	28,855	10
Total votes			284,269	100.00
Turnout				67.7
	Democratic hold

2018

Louisiana's 2nd congressional district, 2018
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cedric Richmond (incumbent)	190,182	80.6
	Independent	Jesse Schmidt	20,465	8.7
	Independent	Belden "Noonie Man" Batiste	17,260	7.3
	Independent	Shawndra Rodriguez	8,075	3.4
Total votes			235,982	100.0
	Democratic hold

References

Geography, US Census Bureau. "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (state-based)". www.census.gov.
Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov.
"Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
"The Political Graveyard". politicalgraveyard.com.

Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

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[1] Geography, US Census Bureau. "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (state-based)". www.census.gov.

[auto-2] Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov.

[Cook-3] "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.

[4] "The Political Graveyard". politicalgraveyard.com.